Clare Whistler invited me to collaborate with her and Chris Drury in one of Clare’s Gift series: Coin – a gift for wealth, in Seaford, UK (May ’14). She asked me if I could make coins that we would set to sea after a ritual. I responded with Soap Coins.

[…]Clare had no prior knowledge of economic theory and she requested that I give her her very first lesson – in front of an audience. Although I had hoped I would not have to teach the basics of economics again that soon and had secretly wished that my memory could somehow evaporate them, the responsibility of the years I had put in acquiring them still burdened me. So I obliged.

Not surprisingly, Clare barely managed to answer any of my economics questions ‘rationally.’ Instead, she gestured with her hands every time I tried to define a word like equilibrium, elasticity or liquidity. Her gestures gradually grew into more elaborate movements and as soon as the lesson was over, she continued with her dance moving outside the room, outside the house onto a path towards the sea. And the audience followed her in her trance.

When they reached the sea, Clare handed them coins. Each coin had a word engraved in it. They were my words - the metaphors - that had triggered the ritual. She requested they rub them hard with water, exchange them and then repeat. As they did that, the words started to effervesce and the coins started to smell and melt. All that remained for her to keep were the holes in the coins. […]

Coin - a gift for wealth

image courtesy of Kevin Costello

Coin - a gift for wealth

image courtesy of Kevin Costello

Coin - a gift for wealth

image courtesy of Kevin Costello

Coin - a gift for wealth

image courtesy of Kevin Costello

Coin - a gift for wealth

image courtesy of Kevin Costello

[...] To detect not equilibrium but a tendency. Observe a line, thought or wealth maximize. To stretch beyond limits beyond elasticity. To reach liquidity drib drib drib & pour. To reach volatility, penetrate & dissipate. Between the fingers of an invisible hand.